Veles - Slovanské božstvo ve srovnávací perspektivě – Gajdošíková Šebetovská Michaela (2023)

Veles stands out among Slavic gods for his mystery, and there are ambiguities surrounding his functions that many researchers have attempted to clarify. Was Veles a god of herds and fertility? Or rather a dark lord of the underworld? This deity is sporadically mentioned in sources from ancient Russia and ancient Bohemia, and we know him from place names in the Balkans and in Bohemia. He guaranteed Byzantine-Russian treaties from the 10th century as a powerful and punishing deity, but he is also compared to the devil and a demon in medieval Czech texts. The etymology of his mysterious name evokes the underworld spaces of Indo-European mythologies, and his figure is reflected in the rich Slavic folklore. ***** The author of this book bases her examination of the figure of Veles primarily on primary sources, which she interprets fundamentally and offers a new and thoughtful interpretation, thus providing a new comprehensive view of this deity. She also extensively uses parallels with figures from related pantheons and mythologies. The reader thus holds in their hands a book that attempts to answer previously unanswered questions and present the world of Slavic archaic thought and culture in a new light.